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A GUIDE-BOOK 



TO 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND; 



OK, 



THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL TREASURES ALONG 
CHARLES RIVER. 



BY 

ELIZABETH G. SHEPARD. 



BOSTON: 

DAMRELL & UPHAM, PUBLISHERS, 

^t)e <0lti (iCorncr iBoofiotorc. 

1893. 



.S5 



Copyright, 1893, by Elizabeth G. Shepard. 



All rights resijrved. 



S. J. Parkhili & Co.. 

Typography and Presswork. 

Boston, U. S A. 



\^- \^"^^(^ 



To THK MkMORV 

OF 

EBEN NORTON HOKSFOED^ 

THIS LITTLE VOLUME, 

AVHICH HE SO WARMLY WELCOMED 

AND ENDORSED, 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 



ROUTE BY CARS. 



Site of Leif'a house. — Site of Thorfinn's house and 

of his huts. —Fish-pits. — Thorflnn's Landing-. — 

Promontory at the south-west. 

Cambridge car from Treinont House or Bowdoin Square, Boston, 
to Harvard Square, Cambridge. Cbange to Mt. Auburn or Water- 
town car, and get off at Elnl^yood Avenue. Fare five cents. 



Amphitheatre. 
Car corner Elmwood Avenue and Brattle Street ; get off at Mt. 
Auburn Station. Fare five cents. 



Norumbeg-a, — dam, docks and wharves. 
Car at IMt. Auburn Station to Watertown. Fare five cents. 



Tower. —Paved areas for fishing- industries. —Ditch. 

Train at Fitcbburg Station, Boston, to Roberts'. Fare twenty 
cents. 



Ditch and dam. 
Train at Fitcbburg Station, Boston, or at Roberts.', for Stony 
Brook. Fare twenty cents or five cents. 



A GUIDE-BOOK 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 



From time to time the knowledge has come 
to us of wonderful archaeological discoveries 
made along the* Charles River, and from our 
conservatism and inertia we are only just awak- 
ening to the fact that they are most interesting 
and fascinating. We have become anxious to 
see the evidences that have lain so long at our 
feet, and which might have been forever un- 
heeded and unknown but for the patient and 
untiring industry of that eminent scholar, Pro- 
fessor Eben Norton Horsford, who has made 
clear and intelligible to us Avhat was hitherto 
obscure and uncertain, and who has warmed our 
indifference into enthusiasm. 

It is the purpose of this little volume to guide 
all who may wish to follow his footsteps over 
the ground he has opened and prepared for us, 
and enjoy the fruit of his labor and research. 



Sagas. 



Biarni's 
voyage. 



S A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

Just at this time, when Ave are in the midst 
of such stupendous preparations for the celebra- 
tion of the four hundredth anniversary of the 
discovery of this continent by Christopher Co- 
lumbus, it in nowise detracts from his glory 
to contemplate the voyages made at a far earlier 
period by the Xorsemeii. 

The sagas tell us, that in the year 985, Biarni 
Heriulfsson, a merchant and ship-master of Nor- 
way, in sailing from Iceland to Greenland, en- 
countered a northeast storm, and, after many 
days, when the skv grew clear, lie found him- 
self off a coast wooded and low, Avith little hills 
in the interior. He did not land, as he had 
heard that Greenland was a region of ice and 
mountains, but rcA^ersed his course and sailed to 
the northeast. 

He sailed for two days Avith a fair Avind, and 
at the end of that time he sighted another pro- 
jection, also Avoodcd and Ioav, Avithout moun- 
tains. He continued on his course Avith fair 
weather and the same southAvest wind, until, at 
the end of three days, he came to land Avhich 
Avas high and had snoAv-covered mountains. 

He coasted along its sliores jjroving it to be 
an island, and after another sail of four days, 
the continued southAvest Avind becoming stronger 



NORUMBEGA AND YIXELAND. 9 

he readied Heriulfsness, his father's residence, 
at the southern extremity of Greenhind. 

Tlie three points of hind he had descried . 
before reaching Greenhmd were Cape God, Nova 
Scotia and Neirfoundland. 

Leif Ericsson dwelt in Greenland with his LeJf Ericsson 

sails lu the 

father Eric the Red, and having heard Biarni's y^^^'^-^^ i^'^^. 
story, fifteen years after the voyage, in the year 
1000, he purchased the ship, manned and 
equipped it and set sail. His crew was thirty- 
five men. 

He first touched the land that Biarni had last 
seen and in coasting had discovered to be an 
island. He noted the snowy mountains in the 
interior, and from the flat rocks along the shore 
he named it Helluland, now Newfoundland. 

He returned to his ship, and after a sail of 
three days, which was the same time that Biaini 
had consumed in sailing the reverse direction, 
he reached the low wooded shores of Nova 
Scotia with their white sand beaclies. He 
called the country jNIarkland (woodland), and 
again embarked. 

At the end of two days, having continued to 
sail with a northeast wind (Biarni had sailed 
the distance contrarily with a southwest wind 
in the same lene^th of time) he came to an island 



10 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

The land-fall at the northern r)oint of Cape Cod, now con- 

of Leif Erics- 

son. nectecl bj the drifting of the sands with that 

promontory, and with his ship's company went 

on shore. 

This was the hxnd-fall of Leif Ericsson. 

Leif sails into After a short stay they returned to their shii) 
Boston Bay. 

and sailed across a bay that opened out to the 
north. That is, they sailed across the mouth of 
Cape Cod Bay, up past the Gurnet and Cohasset 
Rocks into Boston Bay, where they ran aground 
at ebbtide. 

At flood tide the ship floated up the Charles 
River into the ancient Back Bay, Avhich Leif 
spoke of as '' a lake through which a river 
flowed into the sea." Later it was called by 
Thorfinn, Hdp^ a land-locked bay, salt at flood 
tide and fresh at ebb. 
Leif lands in The only practicable landing place was at a 
point in Cambridge once known as Gerry's 
Landing, near the bluff called S3miond's Hill. 

This bluff was originally thirty-five feet above 
high water, and was only taken away some forty 
years ago to fill in portions of the Back Bay. 
Here is the o\\\j point where the shore was bold 
and hard and where a ship could rest on an 
even keel, making it possible to land at high or 
low tide. 







lo'^' 






Lief's Route from Cape Cod. 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 11 

There is the faintest suggestion of a landing ei bridge 

,1 1 • 1 1 1 ii Gerry lived at 

now on the grass-covered river bank, and the Eimvvood. 
phice was called Gerry's Landing because all the the home ot 
land about was owned by Elbridge Gerry, who Lowell, 
lived at Elmwood, the estate Avhich afterwards 
came into possession of the Lowell family, and 
made famous as the home of James Russell 
Lowell. Here he was born, and here, where he 
passed nearly all his life, he died. In " Sweet 
Auburn," almost within sight of Elmwood win- 
dows, he sleeps. 

The house, surrounded by extensive grounds Situation of 
Avith beautiful English elms of ancient growth, 
is located at the corner of Elmwood Avenue 
and Mt. Auburn Street, and but a short distance 
from Brattle Street. 

At Gerry's Landing, goods were unloaded Former use of 
from boats and skows and transported into the ing/^ 
country for the use of the early settlers and for 
traffic with the Indians. 

Here, too, in that far earlier period, Lief and 
his compau}', so the sagas tell us, " brought up 
from the ship their skin cots and made booths. 
After this they took counsel together, resolved Leif builds his 
to remain for the winter, and built tliere a large 
house." 

Booths were temporary abodes of a less sub- Booths, 
stantial nature than the later dwellings. 



12 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

Skin cots were sort of bags or envelopes in 
which a man could incase himself. Thej were 
made of coarse, heavy far on the outside with 
Skin cots. a lining of a softer, finer kind. Fastened down 
the sides and across the bottom, a man could 
slip into one, and, drawing over the flap at the 
to}), lie down anywhere in the coldest or most 
exposed place. 

The narrative goes on to say that half the 
company attended to the work of building, 
while the other half explored the country, Leif 
alternately assisting each set of men. 

After contemplating theii Leifs route from 
Greenland to his land-fall on Cape Cod, and his 
sail into Boston Harbor and up the Charles 
River, the next point of interest is the site of 
his liouse. 

Happily the remains have been discovered for 
us and we have only to go down Elmwood 
Avenue from Brattle Street, past " Elmwood," 
the Lowell estate, and across Mt. Auburn Street, 
continuing to the right of the stonecutter's, 
down the road or lane, until a pair of bars are 
reached. 

A short walk beyond, with the Cambridge 
Hospital Ijuildings on our left and Ave find our- 
selves upon the historic spot. Througli Professor 



NOKUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 13 

Horsford's interest and liberality, it lias been 
enclosed with an iron fence carefully set on 
granite posts, a massive tablet of })olished granite On this spot 

. r\/\/\ ^'^ ^^® year 

denoting that " On this spot, m the year 1000, looo, Leif 

Ericsson built 

Leif Ericsson built his liouse in Vineland." his house in 

Vineland. 

It is the custom for Norse houses to be built 
loner and narrow with a lonof side towards the 
south. Leif's principal house faced in this 
way. 

The plan will show how carefully excavations 
have been made under the directions of Pro- 
fessor Horsford, and with what wonderful vivid- 
ness they reveal the past. 

The most distinctively characteristic feature Careful ex- 
cavations re- 
of Norse dwellinofs is the fire in tlie middle of veal the earth- 

^ ern floor with 

the house. The earthern floor has been found ?^^"® hearth 

in centre. 

with the stone hearth in the centre. 

The stones are mostly split, showing that 
they have been heated, and cracked by the un- 
equal expansion. On the under part of the 
stones there are traces of the green protoxide 
of iron. On the top, Avhere they have been ex- 
posed to heat and air, this has become red (rust), 
the peroxide of iron. Charred wood or charcoal 
has been found by the hearth. On the side of 
the foundations towards the south two large 
stones were uncovered, the width of a doorway 
apart. 



14 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

Stockade and At the end of the house towards the river, 

arrow points. 

^^•here the stockade woukl naturally be built, 
stone arrow points and spear heads were found 
in almost perfect condition. 

What can bring us closer to a time and people 
than to come to the hearth-stone around which 
they gathered, to the fireside where stories of 
home must have been told over and over again, 
and wliere plans for life in the new country 
were discussed and brought to an issue. 
The story of The storv of the namino- of Yineland has 

the naming of *^ ^ 

Vineiand. often been told. Let me repeat it : 

In Leif's company was a man named Tyrker, 
a German, who had been for a long time in the 
household of Leif s father, Eric the Red. One 
evening he was missing, and his absence caused 
Leif much uneasiness. Leif had cautioned his 
men not to wander far away, and his anxiety 
increasing, he started out with twelve of his 
companions to seek Tyrker. They had gone 
but a short distance when they met him in an 
exceedingly meny mood. He held in his hand 
a bunch of grapes and rolled his eyes, talking 
excitedly in German. He was small and ugly 
and had a little wizened face, so that his fan- 
tastic actions were all the more grotesque. 
As he approached Leif he addressed him in 




Plan of Site of Northman's Landing 



NORUMBEGA AND YINELAND. 15 

the Norse tongue, exclaiming : '' I strayed not 
far away, but I have something strange to 
rekite. I have found vines and grapes such as 
grow in Germany where I was born." 

Thereupon he danced in great glee, and it 
was not strange, for the discovery had brought 
back the associations of Ins childhood. 

From this incident Leif named the country 
^"ineland — a place Avhere vines grew wild, 
beaiing grapes. 

In the spring they sailed away to Greenland, Leif returns 

to Greenland. 

carrying with them a rich cargo of grapes and 
masur wood. 



The next expedition made to Vineland was in Thorvaid 

Ericsson sails 

the summer of 1002, when Thorvaid Ericsson, a to vineland. 
brother to Leif, made a voyage in the ship that 
Leif loaned to him. No particulars of this expe- 
dition are given until Leif's houses are reached. 

Thorvaid, with his company of thirty men, Thorvaid 
remained quiet through the winter, and in the ations. 
spring of 1003 explored the Charles, finding 
shallows and islands, with a corn-shed on an 
island far to the west. In the autumn he re- 
turned again to Leif's houses, and the following 
spring, in 1004, Avhile exploring the sea, he was Breaks oft tne 
driven upon Cape Cod, where he broke the keel ship. 



of his ship. 



16 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

He remained there for some time, repairing 

his vessel, and erecting the old keel in the sand 

called the point Kialarness (Cape of the Keel). 

He then sailed away to the eastward, into the 

bays along b}^ Plymouth, imtil he at length 

came to a point of land which was beautifully 

wooded. 

Thorvaid He moored his vessel and Avent with his men 

lands upon the 

Gurnet. Upon the shore. " Here it is beautiful,'' Thor- 

vaid exclaimed, " and here would I willingly 
set up my abode." 

The Skraei- Soou after their arrival they were attacked 

line's. 

by the Skraellings, the inhabitants wdiich the 

Northmen found here. They Avere in appear- 
ance short, with wide faces and high cheek- 
bones ; their eyes very large and set wide apart. 

Thorvaid's en- Thorvald and his comi^anions were walkinof 
counter with ^ 

the Skraei- dowu to the shore toward their ship, when they 
lings. ^ *^ 

descried three hillocks on the sand in the dis- 
tance. Upon approaching them, they dis- 
covered them to be skin boats with three Skrael- 
lings under each boat. They divided their 
forces and killed eight of them, one escaping 
with his boat. 

Then Thorvald and his men were overcome 
by fatigue and fell asleep. Suddenly they were 
awakened by a loud cry and these words: 



NORUMBEGA AND VIXELAND. 17 

" Awake, Thorvald, and all tliy companions, if 
thou wilt save thy life ; go on board thy sliip 
with all thy men, and depart from this country 
at once." 

This cry is surmised by Professor Horsford to 
come from one of Leif's party who remained in 
Vineland. They all hastened to the ship and 
raised their war screens, planks that could be 
arranged around the deck on the gunwale, as a 
protection from arrows and stones. 

A great number of the Skraellings in their Thorvaid 

T . , mortally 

boats bore down upon them, and m the en- wounded. 

counter Thorvaid was mortally wounded. He 

was buried on the Gurnet, at the point he had 

considered so beautiful, and he requested that a 

cross be put at his head and one at his feet, 

and the place be called Krossaness (Cape of Krossaness. 

Crosses). 

This ness or projection is known on maj^s as 
late as 1543 as Cape St. Croix. 

Thorvald's wishes were carried out and after 
the winter had passed, his men returned to 
Greenland, taking with them a cargo of grapes 
and masur w^ood, and bearing the sad news of 
his brother's death to Leif. 



18 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



Thorfinn 

Karlsefni. 



The celebra- 
tion of the 
Yule feast. 



Gudrid. 



The most interesting and important voyage 
to Vinelancl was made by Thorfinn Karlsefni, a 
man from No^^yay, rich and distinguished, and 
descended from an ancient and noble family. 
Karlsefni went from Norway to Iceland, and 
from there made a voyage to Greenland. He 
had in his ship a crew of forty men, and another 
ship accompanied him with as man^^ more. 

This was in the autumn of 1006, and when 
they arrived at Ericsfiord, Leif invited the prin- 
cipal men of both ships to spend the winter with 
him at Brattahlid. 

As the time for the Yule f^^^st approached, 
Leif became silent and oppressed. Karlsefni 
noted it and questioned him. Leif confessed 
that he could make but a poor festival that 
year, whereat the goods from both ships were 
freely offered him, and a bounteous feast pro- 
vided. 

In the household of Leif there dwelt the 
beautiful Gudrid, daughter of Thorbiorn, with 
whom she had come from Iceland to Greenland. 
Her father had undertaken the voyage for the 
purpose of taking her away from suitors whom 
he deemed unworthy of her hand. One of them 
had been scornfully described by him as " noth- 
ing but a gatherer of taxes." Since Gudrid's 



NORUMBEGA AXD YINELAND. 19 

arrival in Greenland she had married Leif's 
brother Thorstein, and become a widow. 

Soon after the festivities of the Yule feast Thorfinn weds 

Gudrid. 

were over, Thorfinn Karlsefni sought Gudrid in 
marriaofe, and winninof her consent and that of 
Leif, the ceremonies of their betrothal and mar- 
riage were both celebrated that winter. 

Conversation often reverted to Yineland and Thorfinn and 

Gudrid with a 

the richness of the country. Uro-ed by Gudrid, large company 

-^ ^ -^ sail for Viue- 

Thorfinn decided to undertake the voyage, and land, 
in the spring of 1007, accompanied by her, he 
set sail. 

He was joined by two or more ships, one of 
which was loaned for the occasion by Thorbiorn, 
Gudrid's father. Thorfinn used the vessel that 
had brought him from Iceland. There were 
one hundred and sixty people in all, seven of 
Avhom were women, and they were supplied with 
cattle and everything necessary to settle a new 
country. 

They reached Yineland in May or early June, 

occupied Leif s houses and built additional ones 

" some nearer, others farther from the water." 

After remaining here tw^o months or more. They sail upon 

exploring ex- 
tAvo of the ships bearing a part of the company peditions> 

wdth Thorfinn for one commander, sailed away 

on an exploring expedition past Cohasset and 



20 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



Wonder- 
strand. 



Scituate Beach to Cape Cod, where the broken 
keel was found, and the pomt was called Kialar- 
ness, the name which Thorvald had already 
given it. They pursued their way around the 
outer side of the cape, passing long stretches of 
sand to which they gave the descriptive name 
of Furdustrand (Wonderstrand) because they 
were so long in sailing by, and for the reason 
that the shore being curved convexly was con- 
stantly retreating before them. Then they ran 
into a cove and anchored. 

Leif had loaned Thorfinn two Scots, a man 
named Haki and a woman named Hekia, slaves 
Avhich had been given him by King Olaf, of 
Norway. They were swifter of foot than wild 
animals, and they were j^ut upon the land and 
commanded to run three days and report what 
they might see. They wore a kind of garment 
called kiafal. It had a hat on top, was 023en at 
the sides w^ithout sleeves, and fastened between 
the legs with a button and strap. When they 
returned, one bore in his hand a bunch of grapes, 
the other brought a white ear of corn. They 
had found these growing wild, both unripe, as 
it was still early in the season. 
Thorfinn goes Thorfinn continued his journey as far as 

as far south as ^,- , , , , , i • i • -i i 

Chatham. Chatham, and tlien the other ship, having sailed 



Slaves find 
corn and 
grapes grow- 
ing wild at 
Nauset. 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAXD. 21 

to the nortlnvard and encountered a storm, 
Thorlinn retraced his course to seek it. But it 
was blown out to sea Avith its commander Thor- 
hall and a crew of nine men, and Thorfinn re- 
turned to his houses, handing upon the south- Thorfinn re- 

1 1 c 1 T 1 -1 1 turns to his 

Avestern bank oi the little tributary stream that houses in 

Vineland. 
floAVS down from Mt. Auburn, emptying into 

the Charles. 

Here a cove was made where a vessel could 
lie safely through the winter. 

Then Thorfinn directed wood to be cut and 
hewn into blocks and piled upon the cliff to dry. 
But before pursuing the thread of this industry 
let us find evidences of his sojourn in Yineland 
where he occupied Leif's house and built addi- 
tional ones of his own. 

If we walk back from the site of Leif's house From Leif's 

house to Thor- 

along the faintly discernible road, Ayhich was finu's. 
the ancient highway from Gerry's Landing, 
until we get to the bars again, turning to the 
left, we find ourselves upon what is known as 
Bank Lane, a narrow road skirting the meadows 
and used in the early days of Cambridge by the 
owners of riparian rights in the grass of the 
marshes for the removal of their liay. 

On the left of this grass}" lane, if one stands 
faciiiG^ the Cambrido^e Cemetery, can l)e seen, if 



22 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



Thorfinn's 
long house. 



Thorfinn's 
huts or 
booths. 



Burial place 
or foundation 
of tower. 



Fish-pits and 
salmon fish- 
ing. 



one looks carefully, a ridge of earth, grass grown 
and uneven, where it is conceived that Thor- 
finn's long house, his most pretentious one, 
stood. 

There has been digging done here very re- 
cently, which will serve to verify the location. 

It is the custom now, in Norway and Iceland, 
as well as nine hundred years ago, that when a 
company of explorers settle in a new countr}', a 
large or principal house is built with smaller 
huts near at hand. 

On the opposite side of Bank Lane, near to 
the site of Thorfinn's house, may be seen the 
sites of several of these huts, some showing a 
sort of terrace thrown out in front of them. 

Towards Elmwood, opposite the tenement 
houses, and just behind an elm tree, is a circular 
mound which may have been a burial place or 
the foundation of a tower. 

Returning to the site of Thorfinn's long house, 
there will be observed beyond, to the right, a 
large fish-pit, and to the left, towards Leif's 
house, several smaller ones. The sagas tell us 
that Thorvald Ericsson remained quite all win- 
ter at Leif's house and lived by fishing. Thor- 
vald mentioned the great size and abundance of 
salmon, and Professor Horsford has in his pos- 



\^^p 



I 




HK 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 23 

session a salmon sinker picked up on the banks 
of the Charles and four more have been found 
near the memorial terrace in front of Long- 
fellow's house. 

In the saga of Thorfinn it is related that pits 
Avere dug at extreme high tide where the land 
was highest, to catch the fish in spawning season, 
the fish going up the rivers and smaller streams 
to deposit their spawn. 

They were also duof where the land besran, " Sacred fish" 

. or halibut. 

and when the tide went out there were " sacred 
fish " or halibut in the pits. 

In the autumn of 1007, little Snorre, the son Snorre, son of 

Gudrid and 

of Gudrid and Thorfinn, was born. Thorfinn, bom 

As Thorfinn had been made aware of the 
Skraellings, to protect his household from any 
attack, especially during his absence on his ex- 
pedition to Cape Kialarness and down past 
Wonderstrand, he had a strong stockade built 
about his dwelling. 

It is written that Gudrid once sat within the 
door of her dwelling by the cradle of lier sleej)- 
ing babe. 

Gudrid is always described as very beautiful, 
large and fair, Avith luxuriant golden liair, and 
as good as she was beautiful. 

As she sat near her babe, sweetly singing a 



in Vineland. 



24 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



Gudrid is 
visited by 
another 
Gudrid. 



lullal)y, or with thoughts wandering to northern 
hinds mayhap, the doorway was darkened sud- 
denly, and a female figure had glided in beyond 
the palisade of upright logs. Startled, Gudrid 
glanced up and beheld a Avoman, rather short of 
stature, wearing a black woven kirtle or gown, 
her yellow hair bound by a snood. Her eyes 
were large, so large that never had such eyes 
been seen in human face before. 

" AVhat art thou called ? " the stranger asked 
in the Icelandic tongue. 

The mother replied, " Gudrid. What art thou 
called? " questioning, and holding out her hand 
in Avelcome. 

'' Gudrid," the strange one replied and van- 
ished, for at the same time there was a loud crash 
outside, and a Skraelling, in attempting to seize 
a weapon, was killed by one of the house guards. 

What wonder that Gudrid marvelled at the 
strange apparition she alone had seen ! 

Who was this barbaric creature born of an 
alien race yet speaking her own tongue and 
possessing strong Norse characteristics. Even 
bearing her own name. 

Daughters of Northmen were already in the 
land! 

About the fields of Cambridge little Snorre 



r 

i- 

I 


1 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 25 

played, ruiiiiina- off, no doubt, to pluck tlie Where Sriorre 

^ -^ ' ^ ^ played. 

yellow daisies on the promontory to the south- 
west of his father's settlement, where the ox- 
eyed daisies grow even to this day. Cape St. 
]\[argharita this point was called by Verrazano 
in 1524. 

A small, pure white stone cup, gracefully Small white 

stone cup 

proportioned and well preserved, has been un- found. 

earthed near the grounds, and is now among 

the possessions of Professor Horsford. 

JNIio-ht it not have belonofed to the fair Gudrid 

and it is not impossible that little Snorre lost it. 

From this Vineland-born boy have descended Icelandic 

genealogies- 
man}^ distinguished men and bishops in Iceland. 

Ko genealogies were better kept than those of 
the prominent Icelandic families, and as the Rev. 
Benjamin De Costa says : '' There can be no 
reasonable doubt cast upon the record which 
attests the family line of Gudrid, the founda- 
tion of Avhich was begun in New England, fur- 
nishing an important part of the Episcopal 
succession in Iceland." 

A descendent of Snorre's in the ninth genera- 
tion was Her Hauk, the Lagman or Governor of 
Iceland in 1295. He was one of the compilers 
of the Landnama-bok, similar, but of greater 
value even, than the Encrlish Doomsday Book. 



26 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

Thorvaidsen, It is also recorded that from Snorre is de- 

the great 

Danish sculp- sceiided Tliorvaldscn, the s^reat Danish sculptor. 

tor, descended ^ ^ 

from Vine- Jt ^yas not Until after the first winter of Thor- 

land born 

Snorre. finn's sojourn in Vineland that he Avas visited 

by the Skraellings, and then these swarthy little 

Settlement of men, pointinsf to the sun as a sign of peace, 

Thorfinn x o or 

visited by the came to g-aze and wonder and then sail awav 
Skraellings. ° -^ 

around the jJi'omontory to the southwest. 

After a time the Skraellings came again, ap- 
pearing from around the southwestern promon- 
tory in large numbers. Thorfinn raised his 
white shield of peace and when they met they 
began to trade. 
They trade The Skraellinsfs brouo'ht rich furs and skins 

with furs. ^ ^ ^ 

which they bartered for red cloth. They would 
take long strips of it and bind it around their 
beads as a snood. 

When it grew scarce, it was cut into small 
pieces, but the Skraellings would give as much 
for it as before. They also received products of 
the dairy which they greatly relished. 

In the midst of these transactions the bull of 
Thorfinn's herd ran out from the woods, and, 
frightened, loudly roared. 

With howls of terror the Skraellings rushed 
to their boats and tumbling into them, rowed 
away. 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 27 

Thorfinn was apprehensive that the Skrael- The Skraei- 

lings become 

lings would come in hostility the next time, hostile, 
and hardly more than three weeks later they 
appeared in vast numbers, their paddles turned 
from the sun, and uttering prolonged howls of 
rage. 

They assailed the newcomers with a hot A battle 

ensues. 

shower of missiles sent from slings, and fasten- 
ing a large stone in the skin of an animal they 
attached it to a long pole and hurled it among 
the Northmen. The Northmen were much 
alarmed and fled along the river, but near some 
rocks they made a bold stand and fought val- 
iently, so that a large number of the mob was 
killed and but few of their own men perished. 

The Skraellings found a dead man with an 
axe laying beside him. One of their number 
picked up the axe and struck at a tree with it. 
One after another they tested it and thought it 
a treasure, and that it cut well. Then one of 
them struck at a stone and the axe broke, 
whereat they concluded it w^as useless, because 
it would not cut stone and threw it aw^ay. 

Although Vineland was fruitful and at- Thorfinn 

leaves Vine- 
tractive, Thorfinn began to feel that he Avould land. 

be liable constantly to attacks from the natives, 

and for this reason reluctantly abandoned the 



28 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

idea of remaining in the country. The follow- 
ing spring, in 1011, he sailed for Greenland, 
loading his ship Avith masur wood, rich furs and 
skins, grapes dried, and doubtless corn which 
the Xorthmen found growing wild in the low- 
lands. 
Other voyages Subsequent voyages were made to Yineland. 

to Vineland. i i • 

Soon after Thorfinn's return to Greenland, it 
is related that Freydis, a natural daughter of 
Eric the Red, and who, it is said, had accom- 
panied Thorfinn on his expedition, prevailed 
upon Helge and Finnboge, two brothers of Ice- 
landic descent, to join her in an expedition. 
Freydis and They had come from Norway to Greenland in 

two brothers 

Helge and their ship, and ijassed a winter there. The 

Finnboge, sail 

with two ships yoyasfe promised P-reat o^ain, and there was to be 

to Vineland. J & i & & ' 

an equal division between Freydis and the 
brothers. 

They came directly to Leif's houses, each 
ship with thirty men, besides the Avomen. Con- 
tentions soon arose, and Freydis had her hus- 
band with liis men put the brothers to death 
and all their followers, Avhile she slew the five 
women of their party. She bestowed man}' 
gifts upon her own followers for them to conceal 
her cruelty, and returned with both ships richly 
laden to Greenland. After a time her wicked- 



HP 








NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 29 

ness was revealed, and '' nobody thought any- 
thing of them, save evil, from that time." 

About the year 1070 the King of Denmark About 1070 

the King of 

told the Prelate, Adam of Bremen, about Vine- Denmark teiia 

of Vineland 

land, visited half a century after Thorfinn was visited by his 

subjects. 

here. " It was called Vineland," he said, " be- 
cause grapes making excellent wine grow there 
spontaneously, and cereals without planting." 

Tliis testimony is independent of tlie Ice- 
landic literature, and the king assured the Dig- 
nitaries of the Church that it was trustworth}-, 
as his subjects, the Danes, had been in Vine- 
land. 

In 1121, Bishop Eric Gnupson, of Greenland, 1121 Bishop 

... Gnupson un- 

resigned that bee to undertake a mission m dertakesa 

mission in 
Vineland. Vineland. 

There are records of voyages in 1285 and 
1288, and in 1357 a ship went to Iceland from 
Greenland that had been to Markland (Nova 
Scotia) for wood. This was the masur wood 
tliat formed so large a part of Thorfinn's cargo 
when he left Vineland. 

What was masur wood ? 

We are told that Leif took it away from 
Vineland. Thorvald's men, too, after his death, 
returned to Greenland witli their ship richly 
laden with grapes and masur wood. Thorfinn 



30 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

doubtless took away the richest cargo of all, 
and an important part of it Avas masur wood. 
Masurwood. We Can find it to-day. It is the burr or 
warty outgrowth on oaks, maples, hickory, ash 
and other trees. It has a beautiful curly grain, 
and is so tough that it can be Avorked into ex- 
tremely thin forms without danger of warping 
or cracking. It is capable of receiving a high 
polish and is very decorative. 

The collecting of masur wood from these 
primal forests was an important industry of the 
Northmen, and we find constant evidences of it 
in the dams, ditches and canals, which in great 
numbers have been brought to our notice by 
Professor Horsford. 

Thorfinn's directions to his men to fell the 
wood, hew it, carry it to the ship and pile it on 
the cliff near by to dry, is more descriptive 
than we at first realize. The tree was first 
felled and then the valuable Avood cut off or 
hewn into blocks of convenient size to handle. 

As there Avere no means for transportation 
other than Avater, thC/ blocks had to be floated 
doAvn the streams to the ships at Gerry's Land- 
inp-. But the Avood AA'as Avet and must needs be 
piled upon the cliff to dry. 

The cliff Ave do not find, but aa^c haA^e ac- 



NOllUMBEGA AND VINELAXD. 31 

counted for its removal for tlie purpose of filling- 
in new lands. 

You will observe a ridge of earth across Bank 
Lane, obliquely crossing the little stream that 
flows down from Mi. Auburn and stretchino- off 

o 

to the rioht. This served to confine the waters 
that brouo'ht down the Avood. To illustrate how 

o 

highly prized was the masur wood of Vineland, 
a stor}^ of Thorfinn is worthy of repetition. 

In the spring of 1011 he sailed away from a story of the 

TT- 1 1 1 c 1 • /-^ 1 1 value of masur 

Vineland, and soon alter reachmg (jrreenland wood, 
he ag^ain embarked and carried his rich stores to 
Norway, where he disposed of them to ad- 
vantage. He passed the winter in the court of 
the king with Gudrid and his son Snorre, being 
highly esteemed, and in the spring of 1012 
made ready to go to Iceland, their future and 
permanent home. 

While he was waiting for a favoring wind, a Thorfinn sells 
Bremen merchant came to him and Avished to suotra. 
buy his husa-snotra. 

There have been many speculations as to the 
meaning of this word, l)ut tlie research of Pro- 
fessor Horsford determined it to signify a jDair 
of house-scales. Thorfinn at first refused to 
sell, but Avhen the merchant offered a pound of 
gold, eicfhtv dollars of our monev, and far more 



32 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

in present valnes, he closed the bargain. The 
scale-pans were made of masur wood. 
Other sped- History tells us of its worth. It was used 

mens ol masur "^ 

wood. ij^ ii^Q manufacture of communion-cups, chalices 

for church services, and is mentioned in inven- 
tories of ancient cathedrals. It was also em- 
ployed for making drinking-cups, flagons, beak- 
ers, tankards, often mounted in silver, and kept 
b}^ kings with the royal treasure. 

" A miglity mazer bowl of wine was set," 

says Spenser; and one quotes from Ben Jonson: 

"Their brimful mazers to the feasting bring." 

Professor Horsford has pictures of elaborately 
carved tankards plating back to the eleventh 
century, and also possesses several handsome 
drinking-cups, which are duplicates of more re- 
cent date. 

We shall find growing evidences of the im- 
portance of the masur-wood industry as we pro- 
ceed on our way towards Norumbega, the ancient 
city of history, tradition and song ; indeed, we 
do not at any time Avander away from them. 

But let us visit tlie amphitheatre which is 

not far distant. 

The araphi- A short ride of less than a mile in the horse- 

theatre. 

cars, up Brattle Street to Mt. Auburn station, 




Drinking Cup. 



NORUMBEGA AXD VINELAX'D. 33 

or by carnage up Mt. Auburn Street to Brattle 
Street and Belmont Street, thence to Gushing 
Street ; and, turning down the first street to 
the left, the splendid amphitheatre lies before us. 

Here, too, we meet with the care and sur- 
veillance of Professor Horsford, for he has 
purchased the property, and enclosed it with 
square-cut granite posts linked together by a 
heavy chain. 

This is conceived to have been a gathering 
place of the Northmen. 

Here, perchance, came the Althino' or Gen- Althing or 

■^ _ ^ General As- 

eral Assembly, to maintain a republican form sembiy. 
of government such as was held at home. 

The Althing, in Iceland, made the laws, and 
the strictest justice prevailed. A man was ap- 
pointed to remember and recite these laws, and 
" the edicts of the Althing, the decisions of the 
courts, the chronicles of kings and people, the 
ofcnealoofies and histories of families, the titles 
to estates, as held by the Sagamen, were 
trusted implicitedly." 

Or, peradventure, the Norsemen on our shores Pastimes, 
came to this spot for their pastimes, as in their 
country great stress was laid upon bodily 
strength and prowess. They might have had 
wrestling, jumping, or exercise in the use of 



34 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

arms — swords, spears, battle-axes. It would 
be very natural for men of wealth and distinc- 
tion, as tbey were wlio came to Viiieland, to 
participate in the sports to which they were 
accustomed. 

Horse fighting was also much indulged in ; 

and this amphitheatre with no less than eight 

terraces for the spectators, may have been 

formed for any of these purposes. 

To Water- If horscs be waiting, let us on to Watertown, 

town, the 

ancient city of to the ancicut citv of Norumbef]^a ; or, if we 

Norumbega. "^ ° 

have wandered more slowly from one point to 
another, a few steps back to Mi. Auburn sta- 
tion will take us to the horse-cars, whose tracks 
border the beautiful road with a charming view 
of hill and country on either side, that vdth 
sweeps and curves enters the little town. 

From the bridge which spans the Charles, 
once known as the Norumbega River, a fine 
view may be obtained of the dam, docks and 
wharves of the olden city. 
Tablet on the A liaudsome tablet on the bridge will assure 
us that we have not mistaken our way, for Pro- 
fessor Horsford's care still forestalls us. The 
tablet is thus inscribed : " Outlook upon the 
stone dam and stone-walled docks and wharves 
of Norumbega, the seaport of the Northmen 
in Vin eland." 



bridge. 



KORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 35 

On the opposite side of the bridge, the town Tablet erected 

by the town ol 

has erected a similar tablet, which reads : " 'The Watertowu. 
old bridge by the mill ' crossed Charles River 
near tliis spot as early as 1641." 

The story of Norumbeo-a is not a long" one. The story of 
«^ ° o ' Norumbega. 

tliougli very old — for Massachusetts. 

Vemzano, an Italian explorer under Francis 
I, of France, in 1521 sailed into the mouth of 
a river named Norumbega. 

In 1543, Allefonsce, a pilot u der Koberval, . 
found in the forty-third degree, between Cape 
Ann and Cape Cod, a river with a city on its 
banks, both bearing the name of Norumbegue. 
At the mouth of this river were rocks and 
islands, and about fifteen leagues up from the 
mouth was the city. 

" There Avas a fine people at this city ; and 
the}' had furs of many animals, and wore man- 
tles of martin skins." 

Thevet saw Norumbega in 155(3, and de- 
scribed it as situated on the l)anks of "one of 
the most beautiful rivers in all the world." 
Wytfliet in 1597, Douay in 1607, and Lescarbot 
in 1610, all quote the statement that " to the 
north of Virginia is Norumbega, which is well 
known as a beautiful citv and a irreat river.'' 



36 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

But there is a still more Avonderful story : 
In 1569, David Ingram, an English sailor, 
reached a beautiful city called Xorumbega, after 
having wandered across the country from the 
Gulf of Mexico. He had sailed from England 
under Sir John Hawkins, and been set on shore 
at Tampico with a hundred or more others, 
owing to lack of provisions. He visited many 
large Indian towns in his journey over the 
country before reaching Xorumbega, and soon 
after his arrival he sailed for England from 
the harbor of St. Mary's (once a name for Bos- 
ton Bay), not far from the Norumbega he had 
visited. Upon his return, he A^-as kindly re- 
ceived by Sir John Hawkins. He told stories 
that passed belief. He had looked upon houses 
with pillars of crystal and silver, and had seen 
pearls measured by the peck. He was taken 
into council ' by Dr. John Dee, concerning a 
contemplated expedition to Norumbega by Sir 
Humphrey Gilbert, and The vet, who was pres- 
ent, conlirmed his relations in part. 

]\Iuch of wliat he told he liad only heard, and 
his wanderings, deprivations and hardships had 
brought confusion to his memory. But he had 
seen the city, and the pearls — from fresh Avater 
clams — and there were furs and precious stones. 



NORITMBEGA AND VINELAND. 37 

Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed with the hope of 

finding Norumbega ; Champlain sought it vainly, 

and CaiDtain John Smith hoped to reach it. A 

mythical city could hardly have gained credence 

with men of so mau}^ nationalities. 

And whence the name Norumbega? From Norumbega 

means: be- 
Norwav. It means : Belonmngf to Norway, longing to 

^ ^ / Norway, 

once called Norvega or Norbega. The native 

Indians could not pronounce h Avithout putting 

m before it, so that Norbega became Nor'mbega 

or Norumbeo-a. 

o 

The country to Avhich the Northmen came 
they first called Yineland. But many years 
after when they had become merged more or 
less in the Indian people, and other explorers 
came, the answer to incjuiries concerning the 
country would naturally be : Norumbega^ in the 
sense of belonging to Nor'mbega or Norway. 

We have seen how well known was the 
countrv of Norumbesra, extendino" from Rhode 
Island to the St. Lawrence. AVe have heard 
the Norumbega River described by all who saw 
it as one of the most beautiful in the world. 
The city of Norumbega figures on innumerable 
maps, and Ingram, the sailor, in 1569, tells that 
it was three-quarters of a mile long. 

Then with the dilution of the Norse blood 



38 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

came tlie decline. In 1583 Bellinger, a friend 
of Hakluyt, visited the city and found eighty 
houses covered with bark of trees ; an extensive 
commerce still beincv carried on there. 

In 1604 Champlain was conducted b}- the 
natives of the neighborhood to the remains of 
Norumbega, but with visions of Paris and the 
cities of the old world to recall, he refused to 
believe in the place, and having sought it 
vainly on the Penobscot in Maine, he struck out 
all mention of the city and country in his map 
of 1(332. 
The dam. In 1631, when Winthrop came, he found the 

falls caused by the dam Avhich is now before us 
at Watertown. It is constructed of rounded 
field boulders, as the Avater breakino^ throuo-h 

' (DO 

several years ago, exposed the structure to view. 
Docks and The docks are plainly discernible. Availed 

wharves. 

channels betAveen the islands, these islands once 
being Avharves Avhere the masur Avood Avas load- 
ed, the dried salmon and the furs and skins. 
While historically inclined Ave can look over 
A house where behind US as Ave stand facino^ the dam, and the 

AVashington ^ 

slept. fipyt house beyond the bridge is the one in Avhich 

Washington slept the last night before he took 
command of his forces in Cambridge. This is 
said to be authentic. 



NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 39 

Still facinof the dam, if one looks iii) AVater- House where 

^ ^ Paul Revere 

town Street that borders the river on the left, made conti- 
nental paper 

the third house Avill present a blackened and mouey. 
Aveather-beaten corner. It is opposite the junc- 
tion of Watertown and California Streets, and 
in this house continental paper money was man- 
ufactured by Paul Revere. 

Then leaving the bridge, and walking down 
past Lewando's Dye Works, turning around the 
corner to the ricfht, one soon reaches the flour- 
ing mill on the exact spot where a flouring mill The flouring 
has always stood ever since the days when the 
first one in New England, and possibly in 
America, was set up there. It is dependent 
upon the same water-power that was made use 
of in the first instance from the Norse dam. 

There are accounts of weir-fishing ; one hun- AVeir-fishing. 
dred thousand fish being reported to have been 
caught in two tides, or one day. Roger Clapp, 
in 1630, bartered with the Indians for iish 
caught at the falls, before Winthrop found them 
in the following year. 

All these accounts presuppose the dam, with- 
out which the river would have glided along as 
smoothly as above. 

The dam Avas there, and had been built by 
a people who had come and gone. 



40 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



Soldiers' 
mouument. 



Waltham 
watch factor 



On to Fort If ^ye are to accomplish the tower m an 

jNorumbega. ^ 

afternoon Avith what we have already seen, we 
must turn away from AVatertown, with its mar- 
vellous stor}' and archaeological interests, and 
wend our way through the picturesque little 
towns of Waltham and Weston. The drive is a 
delightful one, and the distance not more than 
five miles. When leaving Watertown Square 
we drive up ]\Iain Street with the Soldiers' 
Monument on our right, and as we continue, 
we pass, on our left, the first cotton mill of this 
country. 

A little farther on and Ave leaA'e the watch 
^®^' factories of Waltham to our left, the great brick 

buildino^s reachino^ to the edo^e of the river. 

Upon arrival at the stone Avatering-trough in 
Waltham, ^^ou turn aAA^ay from the Lincoln road 
and the one leading to Weston and Wayland, 
and take South Street. 

On the left, some little distance up, is the j\It. 
Feake Cemetery and on the opposite side, after 
Beaver Brook, passing BeaA^er Brook, so named l^y Governor 
Winthroj) in 1631, " because the beavers had 
shorn doAvn divers great trees there, and made 
diA^ers dams across the brook," is the handsome 
estate of Dr. Wm. Baker. 

Upon his grounds, discernible from the high- 



NORUMBEGA AND VENELAND. 41 

way, is a great rock u[)Oii wliicli is a large high Adams' chair, 
stone, cleft asunder. Tliis is historical and 
once lost has recently l)een found again. 

In the early colonial days, Governor John 
Winthrop witli three com})anions, one time 
journeyed np Charles River. As they pursued 
their way along the Indian trail the}^ observed 
this cleft stone and found that four men could 
just pass tlirough abreast. 

In honor of the youngest member of tlieir 
party, Adams Winthrop, the eldest son of the 
Governor's third wife, they named it " Adams' 
chair." This event was recorded, and then 
Adams' chair was lost. One read of it in history 
l)ut it could not be found, until Professor Hors- 
ford, with his genius for revealing the secrets 
of the past, discovered it afresh l^efore our 
e3'es. 

Boston Rock is also upon Dr. Baker's estate, Boston Rock, 
and was thus named by Governor Winthrop 
because it was the first point from which Boston 
could be descried in his route from Framing- 
ham. 

The tower is easily reached, for crossins^ The tower on 
^^ ^ the site of Fort 

Stony Brook and passing the paper mill, the Norumbega. 

first mill where asbestos paper Avas made, one 

turns into the short private roadway to the left 



42 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

that leads directly to it. One can go by train 
from Boston by way of Fitchburg railroad to 
Robert's station near the tower. 

The remark was once made by a student of 
Nature rather than of Norse literature, that he 
supposed Professor Horsford chose that particu- 
lar spot for the tower because of the beauties of 
the site. 

How beautiful it is indeed ! And as we 
slowly mount the tower steps the view is charm- 
ing beyond description. The gentl}^, undulat- 
ing country, the trees with their varying foliage 
and the river flowing by, reflecting the loveli- 
ness of shores and sky. Ever and anon a light 
canoe steals softly along, or a fleet of boats. 

Professor Horsford has erected the beautiful 
stone tower on the site of Fort Norumbega, for 
a time occupied by the Bretons some four hun- 
dred 3'ears ago, and as many years earlier as the 
seat of extensive fisheries and a settlement of 
the Northmen. The old fort was described to 
be at tlie junction of two streams, the Charles 
and Stony Brook. It was surrounded by a 
stockade, and a ditch which still remains. 

If you start from the tower and go down to 
the left, you can follow the ditch nearl}^ to the 
paper mill, indeed it curves around and is con- 



NORUMBEGA AND VIXELAND. 43 

tinued across South Street, tlie road past tlie 
mill, towards tlie reservoir. 

Then retracing your steps ; from the tower 
to the right, you can follow it until it finally 
ends in a delta five hundred or more feet away. 
Tliis ditch is in places ten or twelve feet deep, 
much of it graded and carefully paved with 
rounded boulders on the bottom and sides. 

From the literature on the subject and his 
own deductions, Professor Horsford drove from 
his home in Cambridge to the spot, nine miles 
awa}^, and found the remains of the fort on his 
first visit. 

He has purchased a number of acres of land, 
so that the historic spot is safe and the beauti- 
ful Norman tower stands as a magnificent and 
graceful monument to his convictions. 

At the base of the tower is set a stone mortar A stone mor- 
tar found 
which was unearthed U]:)on the j^rounds, and is upon the 

^ grounds. 

such as the Northmen used in Norway in very 
early times to grind their corn. 

The evidences of an extensive industry in Paved areas 

used in the 

fishery are revealed in the PTaded areas, some fisheries in- 

•^ ^ ^ ^ dustry. 

four acres in extent, carefully paved with 
rounded field boulders. These are on the 
opposite side of the road from the tower, ad- 
jacent to the Cambridge Water Works, and in a 



44 



A GUIDE-BOOK TO 



To the stone- 
walled ditch 
at Stony- 
Brook. 



great measure submerged b}- the Avater of the 
reservoir. Upon this pavement the fish were 
spread to dry ; and the stones heated all day by 
tlie sun retained much of the warmth throuo-h 
the night and kept the fish at a more even tem- 
perature with less danger of spoiling. 

It was by the old fort that Professor Hors- 
ford entered the pathway that led him to the 
vast secrets which he has unfolded to us one 
after another. 

If one has time to continue his drive a little, 
let him go on from the tower up Summer Street 
until he reaches Stony Brook station on the 
Fitchburg railroad. 

This will allow one to make nearly a circuit 
of the water-works and the trip is just so much 
the more enjoyable. 

Or a pleasant excursion can be made b}" tak- 
ing a train in Boston at the Fitchburg depot 
for Ivoberts, and after a visit to the toAver, board 
the train again for Stony Brook, the next station. 
Upon arrival at Ston}^ Brook, a short walk up 
the road that leads past the station brings one 
to a wooded hill on the right, and ascending 
this for a few steps one comes almost imme- 
diately upon a stone-walled ditch which one 
can follow through a charming l)it of wood for 
some distance. 



XORUMBEGA AND VIXELAND. 45 

It finally leads up to a dam and tliese ditches 
and dams can be found all through the valley 
of the Charles, serving as they did the miisur- 
A\'Ood industry. 

The blocks of wood were floated down the 
streams or their tributaries and then canals or 
ditches were dug to transport them to the hirger 
streams and ultimately to the Charles, where, 
stopped by the boom dam, they were dried and 
stored for shipment at the city and seaport of 
Korumbega. 

There can be no lovelier excursion for a fair ■Down the 

river by boat 

day in sprinn^-time or in the brigcht autumnal from Fort 

•^ -^ ^ ^ Norumbega. 

weather with its unbounded wealth of color, 
than to take a boat at the landing on the river 
bank near the tower. 

One may be procured on the opposite shore 
of Xewton, at Riverside, if you have not your 
own, and leaving Fort Norumbega with its 
paved ditches and evidences of extensive fisher- 
ies, you can go down our Charles, the Xorum- 
bega River of other days, until, with a carry 
around the dam at Waltham, you approach the 
site of the olden city on its banks. 

The boat, if a light one, can also be carried 
around the Watertown dam, the Norse dam of 
rounded field boulders, and continuing past the 



46 A GUIDE-BOOK TO 

docks and wharves, passing under the bridge 

where the tablet is placed, a little farther on you 

can obtain an unobstructed view of the stone 

Stone walls walls below Watertown, and extending: to the 

and terraces ° 

below Norum- opening meadows near the United States Arsenal. 

They are better preserved and repaired on 
the north side, although in places they have 
been removed or undermined. 

The terraces which rise above the walls are 
Avell worthy of inspection and are extremely in- 
teresting. They are sharply defined, and here and 
there very old trees grow out from their edges, 
having sprung from seeds that lodged there. 

The distance from the Avails to the first ter- 
race is quite enough to have given space for 
games, wrestling, or other pastimes, and as the 
Northmen were exceedingly fond of swimming, 
performing wonderful feats of strength and 
endurance under water, these terraces might 
have afforded opportunity for an extended view 
up and down the river during such performances. 

One can also land near the Arsenal, and half 
Remains of a mile away to the east, towards West Newton, 

ancient . „ . , 

theatre. there are the remains oi an ancient theatre with 

terraces nearly as well defined. 

Then, returning to 3'our little craft once 
more, continue down the river until, approach- 




/t^- 







NORUMBEGA AND VINELAND. 47 

ing Cambridge, you round "the south-western 
promontory," from be3^ond which the Skrael- 
lings issued upon their visits to Thorfinn. 

Down the bit of river that flows from "south- 
east to north-west," as required by the saga of 
Thorfinn, you come once more to the site of 
Leif's house and his hxnding-phace, all these 
points being the only ones on the river to which 
the language of the sagas fit. 

Then lazily float down through the marshes 
that in the sunlight have all the glory and 
color of autumn foliage. As Lowell sung: 

" Dear marshes . . . 
From every season drawn of shade and light. 

" In spring they lie one broad expanse of green, 
O'er whicli the light winds run with glimmering feet. 

Here, yellower stripes track out the creek unseen, 
There, darker growths o'er hidden ditches meet ; 

And purpler stains show where the blossoms crowd, 

As if the silent sliadows of a cloud 
Hung there becalmed, with the next breath to fleet." 

A little farther on, and Boston, reminding 
one of Venice, is before you. 

Only the most salient points of the North- 
men's sojourn in this country have been touched 
upon, and all these, if one does not loiter too 
long, may be accomplished in a day. 

A visit to the points that have been made 



48 A GUIDE-BOOK TO NORUMBEGA. 

permanently secure to us through the love and 
labor of Professor Horsford, will incite a desire 
for further kno\Yledo'e and investio^ation, and 
all our thanks are due to him for clearing- away 
the mists that huno^ over the sacf-as. 

Let every one read his " Discovery of the 
Ancient City of Norumbega," " The Land-fall 
of Leif Erikson," " The Defences of Norum- 
bega," and "The Problem of the Northmen." 

They will bear most careful and thorough 
study, and are grown almost priceless, since he 
who wrote them has so suddenly and recently 
left us. 

Another very precious book is, " Vineland 
the Good," by Arthur ]Middleton Reeves, a 
young and gifted linguist and author, who was 
the victim of a dreadful railroad accident a 
little more than two 3'ears ago. 

The volume is handsomely and expensively 
brought out, and contains translations and fac- 
similes of the original sagas after they were 
23ut upon parchment. 

A posthumous work of Professor Horsford, 
soon to be issued from the press, is entitled 
" Leif's House in Vineland " ; and this will 
give an account of tlie excavations that have 
been made and what they have disclosed. 



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